Bag holder

ABSTRACT

A bagging station is provided and includes a bagging station structure including a base and a supportive portion vertically supported on the base, a bag holder, configured to hold bag handles of a bag, to occupy and selectively move between a stowed position, at which the bag holder is stowed, and a plurality of presented positions, at which the bag holder is available for bag holding, and a coupling device to couple the bag holder to the supportive portion such that the bag holder is biased to remain in a currently occupied one of the stowed position or at least one of the presented positions.

BACKGROUND

Aspects of the present invention are directed to a bag holder.

Recently, consumers have become increasingly concerned with theirnegative environmental impact. Accordingly, the use of “green” orrecycled shopping bags as an alternative to non-recycled paper orplastic shopping bags is becoming increasingly common. These “green”shopping bags, so called due to their decreased negative environmentalimpact, are owned by consumers and reused every time the consumers shopfor, e.g., groceries. In this way, the consumers avoid using one or morepaper or plastic bags.

Unfortunately, it is seen that green shopping bags are, generally, lessconvenient to use as compared with paper or plastic bags. In particular,plastic bags are dispensed at a bagging station by a repeatableprocedure that is convenient for both consumers and bag handlers. The“green” or recycled shopping bags, on the other hand, have no suchdispensing procedure. As such, their use is relatively problematic for arelatively large portion of the consuming public.

SUMMARY

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a bagging station isprovided and includes a bagging station structure including a base and asupportive portion vertically supported on the base, a bag holder,configured to hold bag handles of a bag, to occupy and selectively movebetween a stowed position, at which the bag holder is stowed, and aplurality of presented positions, at which the bag holder is availablefor bag holding, and a coupling device to couple the bag holder to thesupportive portion such that the bag holder is biased to remain in acurrently occupied one of the stowed position or at least one of thepresented positions.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a bagging station isprovided and includes a bagging station structure including a base and asupportive portion vertically supported on the base, a bag holder,configured to hold bag handles of a bag, to occupy and selectivelyrotate between a stowed position, at which the bag holder is stowed, anda plurality of presented positions, at which the bag holder is availablefor bag holding, and a coupling device to couple the bag holder to thesupportive portion such that the bag holder is biased to rotate toward acurrently occupied one of the stowed position or at least one of thepresented positions.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, a baggingstation is provided and includes a bagging station structure including abase and a supportive portion vertically supported on the base, a bagholder, configured to hold bag handles of a bag, to occupy andselectively elevate between a stowed position, at which the bag holderis stowed, and a plurality of presented positions, at which the bagholder is available for bag holding, and a coupling device to couple thebag holder to the supportive portion and to selectively lock the bagholder in the stowed position or, when the bag holder is unlocked fromthe stowed position, to bias the bag holder to elevate toward at leastone of the presented positions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter regarded as the invention is particularly pointed outand distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of thespecification. The foregoing and other aspects, features, and advantagesof the invention are apparent from the following detailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary bagging station in a stowedposition according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the exemplary bagging station of FIG. 1in a presented position;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an exemplary bagging station in apresented position according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of view of the exemplary bagging station ofFIG. 3 and the interior of the coupling device in a stowed position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a bagging station 10 is provided andincludes a bagging station structure 20, a bag holder 50 and a couplingdevice 60. The bagging station structure 20 includes a base 30 and asupportive portion 40, which is vertically supported on the base 30. Ingeneral, the supportive portion 40 is shaped like an incomplete basketin which a recycled or non-recycled shopping bag may be filled and fromwhich the bag may be removed. In this way, the supportive portion 40includes a rigid exterior structure, which is described in greaterdetail below.

The bag holder 50 is configured to hold bag handles of a bag, such as a“green” or an otherwise recycled bag, and occupies and selectively movesbetween a stowed position S (see FIG. 1), at which the bag holder 50 isstowed, and a plurality of presented positions P (see FIG. 2), at whichthe bag holder 50 is available for bag holding operations, such as theattachment of the bag to the bag holder 50, the filling of the bag withitems and the removal of the bag from the bag holder 50. The couplingdevice 60 couples the bag holder 50 to the supportive portion 40 suchthat the bag holder 50 is biased to remain in a currently occupied oneof the stowed position S or at least one of the presented positions P.

Among the advantages presented by this configuration is that the baggingstation 10 is able to support the use of a “green” bag and to dispensestandard plastic or paper plastic bags to customers who do not use“green” bags. To this end, the supportive portion 40 of the baggingstation 10 includes sidewalls 41, 42 and 43 from which the standardplastic or paper bags are dispensed according to known methods.

The bag holder 50 comprises arms 51 and 52 along which bag holdingportions 70 are disposed. The bag holding portions 70 are configured toremovably receive bag handles of a bag to be held by the bag holder 50and, in that way, are adapted for operation with bag handles of varyingsizes and shapes. As such, the bag holding portions 70 facilitate theopening of the bag and allow for items to be placed therein. Inaddition, with the bag holder 50 occupying the presented positions, thebag holder portions 70 are user accessible. Thus, once the bag is filledwith items, the user (i.e., the customer or a salesperson) can removethe bag from the bag holder 50 relatively easily and/or replace the bagas necessary.

With the bag holder 50 in the presented positions, the bag holder 50 mayoccupy, at any one time, a first position P_(I), any one of intermediatepositions P_(INT) and a final position P_(F). At the first positionP_(I), a bag, held by the bag holder 50, exerts a relatively minimalforce on the bag holder 50. That is, the bag is either empty or nearlyso and, therefore, does not exert a significant amount of force on thebag holder 50 in opposition to the bias on the bag holder 50 generatedby the coupling device 60. At the intermediate positions P_(INT), whichare sequentially occupied by the bag holder 50, the bag exertsincreasing force on the bag holder 50 as the bag is filled with items,e.g., canned foods, which increasingly weigh down the bag. At the finalposition P_(F), the bag is partly supported on the base 30 and, as such,a force exerted by the bag on the bag holder 50 ceases increasing but isnevertheless present and directed in opposition to the bias placed onthe bag holder 50 by the coupling device.

Still referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, in accordance with particularembodiments of the invention, the bag holder 50 occupies and selectivelyrotates between the stowed position S and the presented positions P(P_(I), P_(INT) or P_(F)) and the coupling device 60 couples the bagholder 50 to the supportive portion 40 such that the bag holder 50 isbiased to rotate toward a currently occupied one of the stowed positionS or at least one of the presented positions P (P_(I), P_(INT) orP_(F)). In accordance with these embodiments, the supportive portion 40includes first and second rods 44 and 45, which are substantiallyparallel with the base 30 and which are disposed at upper and lowervertical positions relative to the base 30, respectively. Concurrently,the bag holder 50 further includes a member 53, which is connected toeach of the arms 51 and 52. The bag holder 50 rotates about the member53 between the stowed and the presented positions S and P (P_(I),P_(INT) or P_(F)). The coupling device 60, which includes an elasticelement 65 that captures at least the member 53 at a first end thereofand the lower rod 45 at a second end thereof, biases a central portion54 of the member 53 to pivot in first or second opposing directions whenthe bag holder 50 currently occupies the stowed position S and thepresented positions P (P_(I), P_(INT) or P_(F)), respectively.

In detail, the member 53 is coupled to the first rod 44 by pivot spacers80, which each include a main body and opposing faces. A groove isdefined in each of the opposing faces to rotatably receive the first rod44 and outside portions 55 of the member 53, which are disposed oneither side of the central portion 54 of the member 53. With thisconfiguration, the bag holder 50 is permitted to rotate about a centralaxis of the outside portions 55 of the member 53. The bag holder 50 andthe pivot spacers 80 are further permitted to rotate, as necessary,about the central axis of the first rod 44 although this rotation is notparticularly necessary or unnecessary for the operation of the baggingstation 10.

The central portion 54 of the member 53 is offset from the central axisof the outside portions 55. The magnitude of the offset may vary butshould, at least, be sufficiently large such that, when the bag holder50 occupies the stowed position S, the offset central portion 54 isdisposed on a first side of the first rod 44 and that, when the bagholder 50 occupies any of the presented positions P (P_(I), P_(INT) orP_(F)), the offset central portion 54 is disposed anywhere from aposition in-line with a centerline of the first rod 44 to the oppositeside of the first rod 44.

With this configuration, the elastic element 65, which may be a spring,biases the bag holder 50 in the direction illustrated by the arrow D₁,which does not traverse the centerline of the first rod 44, to cause thebag holder 50 to remain in the stowed position S when the offset centralportion 54 is disposed on the first side of the first rod 44.Conversely, the elastic element 65 biases the bag holder 50 in thedirection illustrated by arrow D₂, which may traverse, but not crossover, the centerline of the first rod 44, to cause the bag holder 50 toremain in the presented positions P (P_(I), P_(INT) or P_(F)) when theoffset central portion 54 is disposed on the second side of the firstrod 44.

Here, it is seen that, when the bag holder 50 occupies the firstposition P_(I) of the presented positions P, the central portion 54 ofthe member 53 is disposed at a significant degree on the second side ofthe first rod 44 and that, as the bag holder 50 sequentially occupiesthe intermediate positions P_(INT) and, ultimately, the final positionP_(F), the central portion 54 is correspondingly disposed at lesserdegrees of the second side of the first rod but never crosses over thecenterline of the first rod 44.

In accordance with various embodiments of the invention, the offsetcentral portion 54 of the member 53 may be formed in various manners ofwhich one, in particular, is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Here, theoffset central portion 54 is formed with an M-shape in which the pointof the “M” is provided at the minimum offset magnitude and serves toprevent a lateral migration of the elastic element 65. In otherembodiments of the invention, the offset central portion 54 is generallystraight and includes a groove that engages the elastic element 65 tothereby prevent a lateral migration thereof.

With reference now to FIGS. 3 and 4, in accordance with another aspectof the invention, a bagging station 10′ is provided and includes abagging station structure 20′, a bag holder 50′ and a coupling device60′. Here, the bag holder 50′ occupies and selectively elevates anddeclines between a stowed position S′, at which the bag holder 50′ isstowed, and a plurality of presented positions P′, at which the bagholder 50′ is available for bag holding. The coupling device 60′ couplesthe bag holder 50′ to the supportive structure 40′ of the baggingstation structure 20′ and selectively locks the bag holder 50′ in thestowed position S′. Alternately, when the bag holder 50′ is unlockedfrom the stowed position S′, the coupling device 60′ biases the bagholder 50′ to elevate toward at least one of the presented positions P′.

As shown, in accordance with embodiments of the invention, the couplingdevice 60′ includes a coupling apparatus 90. The coupling apparatus 90includes a backing portion 91 that is anchored to the bagging stationstructure 20′ by, e.g., mechanical fastening or adhesion, a base portion92 having through-holes defined therein which is anchored to the backingportion 91, and a facing portion 93 to cover exterior faces of thebacking portion 91 and the base portion 92. The adjacent faces of thebacking portion 91 and the facing portion 93 each have grooves or spacesdefined therein through which arms 51′ of the bag holder 50′ slide asthe bag holder 50′ elevates or declines. Elastic elements 95 areanchored on, e.g., the base portion 92, and the arms 51′ to bias the bagholder 50′ to elevate when the bag holder 50′ is unlocked.

When the bag holder 50′ is to be locked in the stowed position S′, thebag holder 50′ is selectively declined into the stowed position S′ untilthe spring loaded catch 100, which is anchored on the facing portion 93engages notches 101 defined in the arms 51′. With this configuration,the engagement of the catch 100 and the notches 101 opposes the bias ofthe elastic elements 95 to prevent the elevation of the bag holder 50′.Conversely, when the bag holder 50′ is to be unlocked, the catch 100 isfinger actuated by an operator to release the arms 51′ and to therebyallow for the elevation of the bag holder 50′.

When the bag holder 50′ is elevated at first, the bag holder 50 occupiesthe first elevated position P_(1′). Here, a bag held by the bag holder50′ exerts a minimal force on the arms 51 and does not exert asubstantial force in opposition to the bias on the arms 51 generated bythe elastic elements 95. As items are placed in the bag, however, thebag exerts an increasing force on the bag holder 50′ in opposition tothe bias and the bag holder sequentially occupies intermediate elevatedpositions P_(INT′) and, ultimately, a final elevated position P_(F′) atwhich the bag is at least partially supported on the base 30′ of thebagging station 10′.

Here, it is seen that the notches 101 defined in the arms 51′ do notengage with the catch 100 until the bag holder 50′ is selectivelydeclined to a height well below the final elevated position P_(F′).Thus, the bag holder 50′ is prevented from undesirably being locked inthe stowed position S′ by the mere placing of additional items insidethe bag.

In accordance with other aspects of the invention, it is understood thatthe bag holder 50 and the bag holder 50′, described above, may beprovided independent of the bagging station 10 and the bagging station10′. In this way, the bag holders 50 and 50′ and the coupling devices 60and 60′ can be applied to various types of bagging stations already inoperation. Moreover, it is seen that retro-fitting the bagging stationsalready in operation will require relatively little or no technicalexpertise.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method ofoperating a bagging station, including a base and a supportive portionvertically supported on the base, a bag holder, configured to hold baghandles of a bag, to occupy and selectively move between a stowedposition, at which the bag holder is stowed, and a plurality ofpresented positions, at which the bag holder is available for bagholding, and a coupling device to couple the bag holder to thesupportive portion such that the bag holder is biased to remain in acurrently occupied one of the stowed position or at least one of thepresented positions is provided. The method includes receiving anindication that the bag holder is required for use, selectively movingthe bag holder from the stowed position and into one of the presentedpositions, positioning the bag onto the bag holder and placing itemsinto the bag and removing the bag from the bag holder. At this point, itis determined whether further use will be made of the bag holder. If thebag holder will be required further, the bag is replaced on the bagholder. If, on the other hand, the bag holder will not be requiredfurther, the bag holder may be selectively returned to the stowedposition.

While the disclosure has been described with reference to exemplaryembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted forelements thereof without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Inaddition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situationor material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing fromthe essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that thedisclosure not be limited to the particular exemplary embodimentdisclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out thisdisclosure, but that the disclosure will include all embodiments fallingwithin the scope of the appended claims.

1. A bagging station, comprising: a bagging station structure includinga base and a supportive portion vertically supported on the base; a bagholder, configured to hold bag handles of a bag, to occupy andselectively move between a stowed position, at which the bag holder isstowed, and a plurality of presented positions, at which the bag holderis available for bag holding; and a coupling device to couple the bagholder to the supportive portion such that the bag holder is biased toremain in a currently occupied one of the stowed position or at leastone of the presented positions.
 2. The bagging station according toclaim 1, wherein the supportive portion of the bagging station comprisessidewalls from which bags are dispensed.
 3. The bagging stationaccording to claim 1, wherein the bag comprises a recycled bag.
 4. Thebagging station according to claim 1, wherein the bag holder comprisesarms along which bag holding portions are disposed.
 5. The baggingstation according to claim 4, wherein the bag holding portions are useraccessible when the bag holder occupies the presented positions.
 6. Thebagging station according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of presentedpositions comprises: a first position, at which a bag, held by the bagholder, exerts a relatively minimal force on the bag holder;intermediate positions, which are sequentially occupied by the bagholder as the bag exerts increasing force on the bag holder; and a finalposition, at which a force exerted by the bag on the bag holder ceasesincreasing.
 7. A bagging station, comprising: a bagging stationstructure including a base and a supportive portion vertically supportedon the base; a bag holder, configured to hold bag handles of a bag, tooccupy and selectively rotate between a stowed position, at which thebag holder is stowed, and a plurality of presented positions, at whichthe bag holder is available for bag holding; and a coupling device tocouple the bag holder to the supportive portion such that the bag holderis biased to rotate toward a currently occupied one of the stowedposition or at least one of the presented positions.
 8. The baggingstation according to claim 7, wherein the supportive portion comprises arod, parallel with the base, to which the bag holder is coupled.
 9. Thebagging station according to claim 8, wherein the bag holder comprises amember about which the bag holder rotates between the stowed and thepresented positions.
 10. The bagging station according to claim 9,wherein the coupling device biases a portion of the member to pivot infirst or second opposing directions when the bag holder currentlyoccupies the stowed position and the presented positions, respectively.11. The bagging station according to claim 9, wherein the membercomprises: outer portions about which the bag holder rotates between thestowed and the presented positions; and a central portion interposedbetween and offset from an axis of the outer portions.
 12. The baggingstation according to claim 11, wherein the coupling device comprises ahook that captures the central portion.
 13. The bagging stationaccording to claim 12, wherein the central portion is configured toprevent a lateral migration of the hook.
 14. A bagging station,comprising: a bagging station structure including a base and asupportive portion vertically supported on the base; a bag holder,configured to hold bag handles of a bag, to occupy and selectivelyelevate between a stowed position, at which the bag holder is stowed,and a plurality of presented positions, at which the bag holder isavailable for bag holding; and a coupling device to couple the bagholder to the supportive portion and to selectively lock the bag holderin the stowed position or, when the bag holder is unlocked from thestowed position, to bias the bag holder to elevate toward at least oneof the presented positions.
 15. The bagging station according to claim14, wherein the coupling device comprises a catch which is selectivelyengaged with notches disposed on arms of the bag holder to lock the bagholder in the stowed position.
 16. The bagging station according toclaim 14, wherein the coupling device is spring loaded to bias the bagholder to elevate.